North Carolina superintendent of public instruction candidates Maurice “Mo” Green and Michele Morrow differ on the issuemany say is central to the future of public education in the state: school funding and teacher pay.
The two faced off in a debate Monday night hosted by the Public School Forum of North Carolina at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines. Green emphasized the need for the state’s General Assembly to fully fund public education, while Morrow said the state’s public education system is not using money it has effectively.
Green is the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, the third-largest public school system in the state, and previously served as deputy superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Morrow is a nurse, home school teacher and vocal critic of public schools in North Carolina. She’s previously called public schools “the indoctrination army of socialist Dems.”
The state superintendent is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. That includes advocating and informing the state on issues in education, making recommendations for policy changes to the legislature and governor and working with the state board of education to organize, establish and administer funds. Each term is four years.
During Monday’s debate, Green asserted school funding is “perhaps the biggest problem we have facing our public schools,” and committed to advocating for funding increases from the North Carolina General Assembly.
“One of the things I will be advocating for is additional compensation for our educators,” Green said Monday. “One of the primary reasons we are losing teachers and not able to recruit additional teachers is that the compensation level is too low.”
North Carolina currently ranks 48th nationally for per-pupil funding for education, according to the latest report from the Education Law Center. While the national average for per-pupil funding sits around $16,000, North Carolina has a per-pupil spending rate of around $11,000.
North Carolina also trails behind neighboring states like Virginia and South Carolina, which spend about $14,000 and $15,000 per pupil, respectively.
When it comes to teacher pay, North Carolina sits at 41st in the country, down from 38th in 2023, according to the National Education Association. Starting teachers in the state make just over $40,000 this year.
“I believe the first thing our General Assembly needs to do is prioritize what our constitution requires them to do, which is to fund our public school system,” Green said.
He pointed to the legislature’s decision to add an additional $463 million to the state’s school voucher program this year without a corresponding pay raise for public school employees as evidence the state has the ability to further fund public education but is choosing not to. For context, $463 million is enough to give each public school educator in the state a nearly 8% raise.
Morrow said she agrees teachers need to be paid more, but she emphasized the need to cut down on other spending rather than lobby the General Assembly for additional money. She has critiqued Green’s calls for additional funding in the past, saying it’s like “throwing money onto the dumpster fire.”
“We need to break down all of the funneling of funds into the bureaucracy,” she said. “I absolutely believe that money matters, but what matters more is how we’re spending it.”
Morrow said the state’s expansion of school voucher funding isn’t a problem and will push public schools to be better.
“It is absolutely necessary that we have healthy competition in the free market system, competition that creates the best product at the best price,” she said.
If elected, Morrow said she would conduct audits of the state Department of Public Instruction as well as individual school districts and programs.
Green called out Morrow’s lack of experience. However, Morrow said her lack of experience in public school leadership is an asset.
“I think one of my greatest qualifications is that I have no experience in a failing system that chooses to continue to fund failures,” Morrow said.
Other approaches to teacher retention
Both candidates say pay raises are not the only ways to remedy the state’s enduring teacher shortage. Morrow and Green alike say teachers are being asked to play too many roles in schools.
“They are expected to be handling situations that really should be falling on administrators,” Morrow said. “What I am hearing as I travel across the state of North Carolina is that our teachers feel as though they have no support in the classroom.”
Green says lowering class sizes, increasing professional development and ensuring there are effective leaders in schools are strategies to ease the strain.
“We are putting far too much on each and every one of our teachers to the point that it is becoming a burden for them,” Green said
Green pointed to increasing the number of school counselors as a priority. Currently, the state has a shortage, with a ratio of 1,800 students to every one school psychologist. He also proposed partnering with community organizations to give teachers other resources like housing child care allowances.
Morrow said schools need to “bring back discipline, respect and order,” and ensure teachers feel safe.
“There is no more character inside of our schools,” Morrow said. “We are not holding our children accountable, we are not holding our parents accountable, and there is a breakdown within our schools.”
She called for at least two school resource officers in every school and a code of conduct.
The state superintendent race is one of several council of state races that will appear on all ballots. Early voting begins Thursday, and Election Day is Nov. 5.
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